CHEMISTRY PROJECT: DECAFFEINATION OF COFFEE. Alex Cohen and Megan Davies. In this experiment, the purpose was to decaffeinate green coffee beans using the Swiss Water Process while retaining flavor components. The most important equpiment used in this lab was a carbon filter that would absorb caffeine from Green Coffee Extract. The main concept used in this lab was concentration gradients. The process itself hypothetically distilled caffeine from green coffee beans however the massive amount of method error prevented any conclusive final evidence that the beans were decaffeinated. In decaffeinating the coffee, more research may have been beneficial to know for sure how much chloroform to use and the amount of tannens in decaffeinated coffee. For future experiments making more Green Coffee Extract initially might provide more accurate results. Also, comparison to the direct water method in terms of caffeine extraction might be an interesting follow-up lab.
Keywords: Swiss Water Process, direct process, tannens, chloroform, distillation, concentration gradients, carbon filter.
Keywords: Swiss Water Process, direct process, tannens, chloroform, distillation, concentration gradients, carbon filter.
Link to journal article: Ramalakshmi, K. and Raghavan, B. (1999) 'Caffiene in Coffee: Its Removal. Why and How?', Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 39: 5, 441-456.
URL: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10408699991279231>
Link to journal article: Smith, Barry D.. "Caffeine and Activation Theory: Effects on Health and Behavior1. (2007), 15-16.
URL:http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sm2ZySXTm7oC&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=swiss+water+process+decaffeination&ots=CYxjPNp4Qd&sig=TC4L1hVbXAsVpn1nqqAZTdaf33w#v=onepage&q=swiss%20water%20process%20decaffeination&f=false.